CALFORNIA: REDWOODS NATIONAL AND STATE PARKS, Day 2 Part 2, Tall Trees Trail

August 9, 2020

Like an expensive restaurant, the Tall Trees Trail requires advance reservations. Only 50 people are allowed on the 4-mile round-trip trail each day. Fortunately, we were three of those people. It is listed as a moderate to strenuous trail with 600 feet of elevation change. This grove has some of the tallest trees on earth, primarily redwoods and Douglas fir.

Entering these forests is like stepping into another world.

Pictures just don't capture the size of the trees, the stillness of the air, and the primeval atmosphere.

There was an pure, Eden-like quality that morning we were there . . . 

. . . right down to the serpent:

But it was just a plain ol' gopher snake, a lot like the kind we have in Southern California and which my kids have kept as pets. Nothing that tempted us to do anything we shouldn't.

The bark on the trees areise of my favorite things in the Redwoods. These look like pieces of sculpture, don't they?

The second photo below is looking up at the tree Bob is standing in front of in the first photo. Mind-bogglingly ginormous.

Some of the ancient overturned trunks are covered in green moss and lichen, making them look like underwater sea creatures ready to swallow whole anyone who approaches them.

Monument to a  fallen giant.

Faces on the trees add to the sense that someone is watching.

This fellow even has a hairdo of sorts.

The natural understory is more beautiful than any botanical garden.

Shelf mushrooms climb up branches like enemies scaling a fortress wall.

Shamrock-green moss coats a fallen log, making it look like an enormous anaconda.

In other places, moss cascades from branches like scraggly hair that needs a trim.

So which is it, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, or the Tree of Life?

The Tree of Life, I think. There must be a lot of family trees that are this convoluted.

And look at those roots--popping out all over the place.

Some places looked more like a  jungle than a forest. I half-expected Tarzan to come swinging  through these trees.

The Redwoods weren't the only Tall Trees in this forest. I can't remember what Sam told us these are, but they were BIG.

It was in this grove that I officially became a Tree Hugger. 💓

I mean, really, how can you not be overwhelmed and overcome by the majesty of THIS overstory?

If I only spoke Redwood, maybe I could interpret what this senior citizen was trying to tell me:

Just like people, the trees have a variety of ornaments, from ferns (an interesting hat) to mushrooms (a strange beak).

Sam admiring a tree that looks like a petrified waterfall:

Black licorice-flavored taffy??

The signs of man's attempt at domination over the forest are clear:

But in the wilderness, you should never assume that you are in charge. 

What a glorious day!